Whoever invented the cupcake was a genius, providing eaters the opportunity to have a whole cake of their own without feeling like too much of a pig. Seattle's Cupcake Royale makes the situation even better by offering mini cupcakes as well as full-size ones, thus making a snack of two or three cakes a reasonable proposition. On the other hand, the bakery's inventory almost inevitably leads to piggishness on the part of cake lovers. There are so many good ones that must be tried.

In addition to the regular varieties, which include carrot cake, double chocolates, lavender and lemon drop cakes, and a wicked-good salted caramel-topped one that is especially fudgy, Cupcake Royale offers a cupcake of the month. In January as an ode to the fried banana and peanut butter sandwich that was a favorite of Elvis Presley (whose birthday is January 8), the spotlighted feature was a banana cupcake with chocolate peanut butter frosting, crowned with a crisp dried-banana chip.

If there is a complaint to be made, it is that the cakes sometimes can be too fresh, so warm and moist that if you are not extremely careful, one bite will detach the top from the stump, or the stump itself can disintegrate between thumb and fingers. Some complaint! All I'm saying is that these cupcakes are best eaten at a table or counter rather than from an automobile dashboard.

Note: There currently are four cafes selling Cupcake Royale cupcakes and Verite coffee. We visited the one in Madrona. Other locations are West Seattle (4556 California Ave. SW), Ballard (2052 NW Market St.) and Capitol Hill (1111 E. Pike St.).

Scorecard

"In honor of Elvis Presley's 75th birthday on January 8, 2010, the cupcake of the month was an ode to the King: banana cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting. Cupcake Royale makes regular-size as well as minis, the latter a boon for those who want to sample several flavors."
Michael Stern

"Be careful. If you hold a cupcake with too strong a grip, or even if you chomp into it willy-nilly, you run the risk of complete cake disintegration. Such tenderness might be a fault in Bakery School, but for me, there's no such thing as a too-delicate cupcake."
Michael Stern